Houston man facing five years behind bars for pointing laser at helicopter flying over Texas

A Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter prepares to take off to patrol along the Rio Grande, Thursday, July 24, 2014, in Mission, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP)

A Houston man is facing five years behind bars and thousands of dollars in fines for pointing a laser at a helicopter flying over Texas last year, according the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bryan Aldana on Monday pleaded guilty to flashing the green light at an airborne AS350 B2 helicopter the night of June 23, 2018, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick.

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Agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety were flying the aircraft “on routine law enforcement patrol” along U.S. Highway 290 when they were distracted by “a flash of green light” around 9 p.m. They were roughly 1,000 feet in the air and traveling at a speed between 70 and 80 knots.

“The pilot reversed the aircraft back to the southeast direction and was illuminated again by the green laser, which was powerful enough to light up the entire cockpit,” according to the Department of Justice press release.

“The light caused a glare in the pilot’s eyes and obstructed his vision, forcing him to turn his head and maneuver the airbus away from it. The pilot also had to close and shield his eyes from the flashing green laser inside the cockpit.”

An investigation into the incident led authorities to the source of the light on the ground – a business located near the intersection of Hollister in Pitner.

The Houston police were able to obtain the store’s surveillance footage, which showed a man “aiming a green laser up in the sky several times and a green laser pointer at the helicopter while sitting in a chair next to a silver sedan," according to the release.

Authorities later identified the suspect as 20-year-old Aldana, who can also be seen in the surveillance clips placing the laser pointer in the backseat of his vehicle.

The device was confiscated and sent to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where scientists dubbed it a Class IIIB laser system — or a device which produces beams that could “result in serious and possibly permanent retinal damage.”

Aldana is slated to be sentenced in July and was allowed to remain free on bond pending his hearing.